Reforming regulations for a sustainable Northwest.

Some of the smartest, most innovative solutions for building thriving and sustainable communities in the Northwest are, at present, simply illegal.

Even the best-intended rules to protect people and shared assets can become outdated. From business strategies (think buggy whips and typewriter ribbons) to the stuff forgotten in the back of your fridge, almost everything has an expiration date. Luckily, weeding out the counterproductive rules rendered irrelevant by time can have a big impact—making it easier and cheaper to do the right thing.

Take the problem of the urban stormwater runoff that threatens the health of Puget Sound and other waterbodies throughout the Northwest. Low Impact Development (LID) solutions—including such strategies as rain gardens, street-side swales, porous pavement, and green roofs—can treat stormwater more effectively, and for less money, than the costly “hard” infrastructure of downspouts, pipes, and sewers. Yet many development codes mandate the more-expensive, less-effective plumbing solution. If only codes would allow LID as an alternative, the region could see a proliferation of lower-impact techniques that could spare government coffers in lean times, and give developers and homeowners a financial break—even while providing cleaner water and patches of urban habitat.

Other examples of sustainable practices hindered by outdated laws and codes abound. Look at current neighborhood design. Most zoning codes reflect an idealized 1950s in which nuclear families supposedly cloistered behind picket fences. But major shifts in demographics—singles delaying marriage and child-rearing; women having fewer children; aging baby boomers; and extended, close-knit immigrant families—all demand housing that fits a new set of needs. Those needs are far better met by compact neighborhood designs. Yet in most cities it’s not even legal to build new living units in backyard cottages or converted basements—the very kind of housing that supports non-traditional configurations, like families living with elderly grandparents, or renters for cash-strapped homeowners.

These examples are just two of the multitude of ways that sustainable strategies are ruled out by current rules in the Northwest. There are dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of others. Many green building techniques such as recycling “gray water” are illegal. So are many sustainable, small-scale food-production techniques—think of Portland’s flourishing food carts, which are mostly banned in other Northwest cities. Car-pooling for money? Illegal. Renting out your car when you’re not using it? Illegal. Rain barrels? Actually illegal in many places, under state water law. Similarly, heat pumps that piggy back on city water mains could save enormous amounts of energy and money, but initial inquiries suggest they are illegal.

In this new blog series, Making Sustainability Legal, Sightline will check the expiration dates on a slew of existing regulations, charting a path for new rules that allow sustainability to flourish across the region. We aim to single out counterproductive regulations rendered irrelevant by time and to present smarter solutions that fit today’s reality. If the Northwest can clear away this sort of debris, the region can grow into a region that’s more affordable, fair, and sustainable.

Have your own affordable, green innovations—at home or at work—slammed into obstacles hidden in law, regulation, or other rules? Let us know! We need your help to catalog rules that are past their “sell by” date. Write to Eric (at) sightline.org.

Do keep in mind that the reason for some of this water specific legislation has to do with the other side of our state. While no one minds if folks harness and collect water here on the wet side, on the dry side of our state your neighbor collecting rain water can mean your well runs dry. That said, there’s no reason we can’t have laws applicable to each local… it would just take a bit more common sense then we currently have in our codes.

Although the “law” includes rain barrels, the real impact (if there is one) is collecting rain water on large roofs, parking lots or other large impermeable surfaces and keeping it.

Slowing down the water on it’s way to the storm system (and/or aquifer) is legal and encouraged (vaults and bioswales). simply taking and using it is not.

Now that being said, the point still stands. Just how much water would be removed from the aquifer/streams/canals if we collected ALL of the rail from roofs and parking lots – held it for use (and hense distribution to said aquifer later in ther year) – I bet not much.

I also take a cynical view towards ideas based on attractive anectodes or where I see low chances of return on effort/resources. I strongly disagree on this one.

Bureaucrats today have little incentive to take risks or innovate without proding from outside groups and legistlators. Tackling this culture regionally is likely to return dividends and can become a model nation/world wide.

I’d like to see metrics and goals in place for every jurisdiction. There is always a chance for unintended outcomes, as we’ve seen with developer credits for affordable housing. (1 bedroom apts for $1500 should really not qualify.)

With that said I question if we have the right institutions and cultures in place to get this done right. Should we focus on that first?

just attended a pre-conference workshop at BALLE in bellingham about generating community capital. are you going to research the rules and loopholes around investing in local businesses.

and what about local food – laws prohibit selling raw milk consensually to your neighbors. forbid selling product processed in your own non commercial kitchen. getting legal actually excludes many little guys and this neighbor to neighbor trade would really help during the downturn.

Clarifying: We’ve been getting put from local innovators in Bellingham, through Sustainable Connections, the Whatcom County affiliate of BALLE. You may have been refering to the national BALLE conference this past week in Bellingham.

Eric, I’m hoping you can do something to publicize the plight of Dirk and Nicole Becker, in Lantzville, BC, who are being hauled into court by the municipality — for the dreadful sin of growing food!

This is a horrible tale of zoning and neighbour complaints gone awry. You can learn more on their Facebook page.

They have been served with notice that they are using their land outside “permitted uses” under Lantzville Zoning Bylaw #60-2005, which prohibits agricultural activity in areas zoned residential. This is no city lot we’re talking about; the Beckers have several acres, and have gone to great lengths to keep their agricultural activities from disturbing neighbours. But the municipality has now hired Robert Macquisten of the law firm of Staples McDannold Stewart to harass them, threatening them with legal proceedings by June 29th.

If you can’t do anything to help them, I hope others will at least write the Lantzville council, expressing their revulsion and disgust that growing food could be illegal in ANY situation! Contact info is available via the Facebook page.

Actually, the WA State Department of Ecology has issued multiple statements over the past 2 years trying to clarify the issue of rooftop rainwater harvesting. It is legal throughout the state (a water right is not required) to harvest rainwater and there are no limitations on its use. http://1.usa.gov/1bvirZ
The WA State Department of Health is also actively addressing the issue of grey water use in irrigation, and the new rules allowing the use of grey water in this way become effective next month. http://1.usa.gov/1NsjN
These are just 2 examples of our State actively working on making sustainability legal. There are many more!

Thanks for joining the thread! I hope this initial post didn’t seem unduly pointed at WA’s Dept of Ecology — it’s certainly not intended to be. Many of the issues I mention arise in a variety of states and provinces. In fact, I’m planning a post soon on “success stories,” in which policymakers or agencies have reformed regulations to advance sustainability. I plan to discuss both the rainwater harvesting and gray water questions in a bit more detail.

I recently built six live work units seeing up the building for voltaics. I also installed 3750 gallons of storage to use rain water to flush toilets. Ecology in their wisdom denied my request for acquirer recharge even though the location is urban and next to a creek whose. Header waters are controlled by a dam.I have also built a 6000 sq ft green roof while paying storm water impact Fees. No carrots there from the city of bellingham.

Interesting examples. Can you email us with more detail? Do you know the particular Ecology rules that got in the way–forcing these particular decisions from Ecology staff? Write eric (at) sightline (dot) org

Recode Oregon (www.recodeoregon.net) is a grassroots organization with the mission of legalizing sustainability in Oregon. Projects include policy changes for greywater and for site-built composting toilets.

Another way to use rainwater, besides irrigation, is to use it to flush toilets. This gives the rain a place to go even in the rainy season where irrigation water is unneeded. The main reason to do this is to keep water in the mountains and rivers and to eliminate the need to treat every drop of water for drinking. I know of at least two houses in Seattle that are permitted to do this. It would really useful for some large development to take this on for the entire project with common storage and filtering.

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Founded in 1993, Sightline Institute is committed to making the Northwest a global model of sustainability, with strong communities, a green economy, and a healthy environment. We work to promote smart policy ideas and monitor the region's progress towards sustainability.